Booth skates, but 'still has issues' with knee

David Booth said his bruised right knee feels sore just walking or riding an exercise bike. He knew skating on it would be harder, but the left wing still wanted to try.

So Tuesday morning, Booth skated with the Panthers for the first time in a week. Progress for sure, but the fact that he didn't finish the workout at Bell Centre and noted there's still a lot of swelling means he "obviously still has some issues," coach Jacques Martin said.

"It was good to get out there," Booth said. "But I can't go full speed, and I need to go full speed to play my game."

Martin said he hopes Booth will play by the end of this week. Booth said he's not sure when he might return.

"It's taking longer than I thought," he said. "I'm doing everything. I guess that's just the way it is."

PELTONEN GETS CAST

Left wing Ville Peltonen is expected to be out four to six weeks. He had a hard cast put on his broken foot Monday. He'll wear that for three weeks before switching to another cast, Martin said.

The Panthers don't plan to make a roster move, Martin said, because they now have Brett McLean back. McLean returned to the lineup Sunday after missing more than a month with a broken right hand.

MURPHY, Van Ryn UPDATE

Defenseman Mike Van Ryn underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist Tuesday. Further details are expected to come today.

Martin said defenseman Cory Murphy had a bone scan on his right shoulder, though the results weren't known yet.

The team has been trying to figure out why the "bad bruise" Murphy suffered Nov. 13 hasn't healed enough for him to play -or even skate on his own. Murphy has already had an MRI on the shoulder, which he and Martin have said revealed only a bruise.

The 29-year-old rookie, who tallied 11 points in 19 games, was the Panthers' defensive player of the month for October and the team's quarterback on power plays.

MONTREAL MEMORY

Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun, who was the Montreal Canadiens' 11th pick (226th overall) in the 1994 draft, will always remember his NHL debut, Feb. 6, 1997, against the Flyers. It was the only period he ever played for the Canadiens.

Vokoun allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled after the first period. Montreal left him exposed in the 1998 expansion draft; Nashville claimed him.

"It wasn't anybody's fault. I was drafted here and they gave me a chance to one day make the NHL," Vokoun said. "[The debut] was very devastating at the time, but everybody faces obstacles and sometimes when things don't go well, that's when you learn the most."